


The Pros and Cons of (Un)Requited Love

by ceanandsbrielgam1927ship



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Anchors, Derek Hale is a Softie, Feral Derek Hale, M/M, Magic cream, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Peter Hale Being an Asshole, Runes, Sad Stiles Stilinski, Stiles Stilinski's Scent, Witch OMC, boyd and lydia have brains, hes funny tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:34:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29659707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceanandsbrielgam1927ship/pseuds/ceanandsbrielgam1927ship
Summary: Annoyed at himself for being obvious with his crush on Derek, Stiles goes to drastic measures to cover it up. On the way, he finds out that maybe it's not actually so one-sided and that he may be as important to Derek as Derek is to him.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski, Stiles Stilinski & Original Character(s), Vernon Boyd & Lydia Martin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	1. Stiles

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I love the trope where Stiles an anchor for Derek, so here's some determined Stiles, whump, and softie Derek. Also, I am in love with the name Cassius because I'm also a supernatural fan, so I hope you like him, although he has a very small part. Lowkey wanted to write the adventures of him and Stiles just being dumbasses, but maybe another time. Enjoy!

Everybody and their mother had to know about Stiles’s crush at this point. Whenever Derek entered a room, Stiles’s heartbeat would go up, sometimes far enough that the pack would look at him in concern while Scott tried to stifle a laugh. Lydia approached him the day after this had happened and offered to help him seduce Derek. He’d blushed deeply and denied her request, embarrassed that he was so obvious. Peter had heard about the incident outside of the gay club and took Stiles (against his will) shopping the next day. They had gone through 7 stores and almost a hundred dollars before Stiles could convince Peter that his wardrobe was fine. His dad had just sat him down and gave him a speech about safe sex and relationships until both of them were uncomfortable looking each other in the eyes. Even once when he was shopping with Derek, an old lady caught him staring at the man’s back. She nodded sympathetically and patted him on the arm, whispering good luck to him. He had flushed so deeply that Derek had been concerned and took him home because he thought that he had a fever. Every time this happened Stiles became sadder because he realized that he was being so obvious when Derek had made it clear that he’d never want Stiles. He didn’t want their pity, he wanted to get over his stupid totally-not-love unrequited crush! So deciding to take action, (because Stiles is nothing if not efficient) he began to research. Deaton even helped him, referring him to one of his witch contacts in Colorado. The guy was named Cassius and was a little odd, but offered to help him for a price. Stiles was known in the supernatural magic community for his rune-drawing skills and Cassius had a very specific and challenging rune in mind. He agreed to fly down to California to do their trade and Stiles had never been more excited. He was buzzing, always rushing out of pack meetings to confirm and align his schedule with Cassius so he could get his poultice as soon as possible. 

‘Today is the day.’ Stiles thought happily as he checked the time for the thousandth time that meeting. Scott kept giving him squinty looks, trying to figure out what was going on. Every time he’d catch Scott staring, Stiles would send back an innocent smile and look away. Even some of the betas were starting to be wary, and Peter vacated the loft as soon as he saw his shifty behavior. Finally, Derek cracked. 

“Stiles. What’s going on?” He asked with the usual gruffness and lack of finesse. Stiles shot back the same innocent smile he had been aiming at Scott all day and shrugged. 

“Nothing.” 

Derek looked really upset now and he could almost feel the suspicion wafting off of the alpha. He checked the time and   
‘oh!’

“Sorry, gotta go!” He said, and jumped off of the couch, running through and proceeding to slam the door faster than the betas could follow. He hopped into his jeep and took off to the diner where they had planned to meet. Stiles fished the rune drawing out of his pocket and nervously unfolded it, waiting for the man to arrive. Five minutes later he had ordered and sucked down a coke, practically vibrating with anticipation. The bell on the door clanged, and a handsome man walked in. He had blond hair and tan skin with vibrant honey eyes. He beelined for Stiles, obviously recognizing him from their website and Stiles tried not to freak out. Two hours later he had tweaked the rune, eaten 5 bags of curly fries, and gotten his hands on his poultice. Cassius had explained it clearly, he was to take out a dime’s worth and rub it in clockwise circles around the jugular of his neck. The cream could cover his scent and mask his heartbeat for the duration of 5 hours from each appliance. Cassius had left for his hotel with a hug and a promise to trade in the future. Stiles left the diner smiling victoriously until he turned and spotted Isaac staring at him. 

“Heyyyy, Isaac. What’s up..” He started warily. Isaac didn’t respond, just sniffed deeply and narrowed his eyes at Stiles before turning around and leaving without a word. He shrugged off the encounter, smiling once more and driving home. 

The next night was a pack bonding night and Stiles figured that was the perfect time to try out his new cream. Before he headed over, he rubbed it in on his jugular exactly as Cassius instructed, and shrugged when he didn’t immediately feel anything. He drove in the jeep and parked beyond the wolf’s hearing range so that they wouldn’t be able to hear the jeep when he snuck up on them. The loft door was open so he tip-toed in, approaching Scott’s seat on the couch and slamming a hand on his shoulder. He smiled viciously when Scott yelped and turned around. He did a little fist pump and finger-gunned a shocked Scott, who was now eyeing him with mistrust. He sunk into the plush couch and huddled under the blanket. Derek came in and the rest of the pack trickled in as time went on. Stiles was content to watch their muddling around when suddenly a voice boomed above the rest. 

“Where’s Stiles?” Actual concern? From Derek? Nah, he just sounded angry. 

Peeping his head from under the blanket, he squeaked out, “Here.” Derek frowned at him and then went over to him, picking him up and slamming him against a wall. 

“What. Are. You.” 

“Whoa man, don’t hurt the Stiles, I thought we were past this,” The teen whined. He yelped as Derek ducked his head into the crook of Stiles’s neck and inhaled. 

“Why can’t I smell you?” He asked, growling. 

“Man, chill, it’s just some herbs I’m trying out, I got them from a friend.” 

“What friend.” 

“Punctuation, man, it’s a thing.” Derek growled again and Stiles conceded, “Cassius.”

“Is that who I saw you with at the diner?” Asked Isaac unhelpfully. 

Stiles turned his glare on Isaac. “Yes, he’s a witch and we were doing a trade. Sort of like supernatural favors. Now, if that’s all, I’m leaving before you can slam me up against any more walls.” Stiles had been happy that the cream worked, but disappointed in Derek’s reaction and lack of trust. This only furthered the point home though, Derek did not like him, and he’d take his crush to the grave if it meant him not finding out and ripping his throat out. If the display inside was anything to go by, he’d do it with glee.


	2. Derek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We see the story from Derek's perspective and it's basically just feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I guess I'm in my feelings or something because that's kind of all this is. Enjoy :)

Derek hid his emotions exceptionally well, out of need as much as convenience. This was both a strength and a weakness for him when it came to dealing with others. For one, he could be impassive in the face of danger. To counter that was the fact that it hurt his relationships and his ability to communicate. Another plus for this was being able to anchor himself and reign in his wolf. Well, it used to be. Up until his wolf decided that his anchor should be a person, someone he trusts and is loyal to, and who returns those qualities. This person came in the form of a 5’8” lithe, pale, sarcastic teenager named Stiles Stilinski. This also had its pluses and minuses. A plus would be that Stiles was loyal and caring. A minus of that would be being subjected to his “caring” speeches where he basically just yelled at the pack for their stupidity. Another plus was that Stiles was dependable, always appearing when he needed saving or help. But the biggest minus of all was Stiles being Stiles, and therefore, Derek developing feelings for him. Stiles had along the way broken down all of his walls, bashing his way into Derek’s space. Derek liked it that way. He liked that he didn’t have to really do anything, say anything, but Stiles would be there regardless. Somewhere in their timeline, Stiles had become one of the most important parts of Derek’s life. It was maybe because of that that he had come to depend on Stiles scent so much, anticipating the honey and cinnamon smell that followed whenever Stiles went. So when Stiles walked into his loft, not smelling like comfort or anything at all, he lost it and threw the boy up against a wall. When he admitted that he had done something to alter his scent, Derek was furious, but let his impassive mask slip on. When the boy mentioned a friend he had been out to eat with, and a stranger to the pack at that, an irrational fragment of jealousy hit him. After Stiles had left, he’d turned on a movie and sulked, feeling a lot like Peter. The thought had him shivering, rolling his shoulders in horror. He felt uncomfortable the entire night, not fitting correctly in his skin. He got so ramped up that he kicked the pack out and buried his nose in a shirt he loaned to Stiles after a big-bad attack, sniffing the sweetness and spice. 

Three pack meetings later and Derek was tenser than he had ever been. His pack kept sending him concerned looks, but he kicked them out again. Stiles had been silent for most of the meeting, hiding behind his computer and refusing to look at Derek. It was driving him crazy and all he wanted was to talk to the teen, to ask him to take off that stupid cream but he didn’t want to make him upset again. Boyd stayed behind, face blank as he stared him alpha down, and Derek cracked under his beta’s gaze. 

“It’s my anchor. It’s slipping and I don’t know how to cement it.” Boyd nodded at this. 

“Do you need help? You’re starting to worry us.” Derek smiled at his second’s concern but shook his head. Boyd raised an eyebrow but left anyway, leaving Derek to slump into his couch. His wolf howled inside of him, urging him to go over to Stiles’s house and sniff him out. He denied the urge and tried to distract himself with reading the bestiary. Derek lasted 3 more days before he was set off. Scott came over for help with a problem and suggested that as the pack human, Stiles should be used as bait for the siren they were fighting. Derek and his wolf saw red and in a few seconds he had slashed one of his arms and had him down on the floor, a hold tight over his throat. Boyd came rushing in and pulled Derek off of Scott, allowing him to scramble away. Derek was completely wolfed out, the only thought on his mind being to eliminate the threat. Lydia came rushing in, and seeing Boyd’s losing position, told Scott to yank Boyd over the threshold, allowing her to lay down a line of ash between the doorway, effectively trapping him in the loft. Derek roared at his betas, no recognition in his eyes, alpha crimson shining brightly and showing no sign of fading. By this time, Lydia, Scott, and Boyd were efficiently freaking out, calling the pack for a meeting and thinking of ways to fix it and what had gone wrong. When most of the pack had gotten there, only Stiles and Peter missing, Boyd told them what Derek had shared the other day about his anchor. They all turned and looked at the feral alpha, who was growling steadily, claws and eyes out, and agreed that an anchor was the crux of the issue. Scott was texting furiously until he gave up and called Stiles multiple times until he answered. 

“Stiles!” 

“Yeah, sorry Scotty, Cassius was having an emergency with a Croatoan. What’s up?”

“Man, you gotta come to the loft, quick! It’s Derek.” With that, Scott hung up on Stiles’s immediate squawk. The rest of the betas just stared at him and he shrugged, “What? It’ll get him here faster.” This proved to be true when 8 minutes later they heard the squeal of Stiles’s tires pulling into the loft parking. He ran up and flailed as he looked at all of them just standing around.

“Well?!” Most of the pack started talking at once but were cut off by a sharp whine from Derek. The man had gone from growly and angry to a puppy in .5 seconds and the betas were shocked. Stiles walked across the ash line before they could stop him, obviously not noticing that it was there for a reason. Derek immediately grabbed an arm and pulled him in, sniffing frantically at him and whining plaintively. Stiles patted him on the back and hugged him too. 

“Hey, buddy, what’s wrong?” The werewolf didn’t reply and Stiles kept rubbing at his back. When Scott tried to place an arm on Stiles, Derek almost took it off. Scott yelped and jumped back, Lydia rolling her eyes at his idiocy. 

“Stiles,” she said softly, “Derek is having a problem with his anchor, he went feral on us.” 

Stiles laughed, “Feral? What, did he hug someone to death?” 

“No, he tried to kill Scott.”

“We’ve all had that urge from time to time,” Stiles said and Scott made a wounded noise behind him. He just laughed at the reaction. Boyd elbowed Lydia and she took in the scene before her. 

“Scott, what does Stiles smell like?” 

“He smells cinnamon, medicine, and sweat. Sweet dude, you finally took off that cream? It was driving me crazy not being able to hear you.” At that Lydia and Boyd shared a look and nodded in sync. 

“I don’t think Derek has an anchor problem anymore. Stiles, would you watch him for tonight? He should be better tomorrow?” Stiles nodded, obviously confused, but just moved over to the couch and settled down for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll see non-feral Derek, more feelings, and Peter in the next chapter


End file.
